NATCHEZ &045; A grant that could possibly help boost the county’s firefighting capabilities &045; if the county can apply in time &045; was discussed at Friday’s county supervisors meeting.

The board gave Civil Defense Director George Souderes permission to research a homeland security grant that could be used to hire firefighters or recruit and retain volunteer firefighters.

George Souderes gave information about the grant to Roy Geohagan of the Southwest Mississippi Planning and Development District to research such things as the grant amount and in what ways it could be used to recruit and retain volunteers. However, the deadline is close &045; June 28.

Supervisor Henry Watts suggested during the board’s Friday meeting that the county might look into paying the county’s firefighters, who are now strictly volunteer, a small amount per hour.

&uot;Morale is low, as you know,&uot; among the county’s volunteer firefighters, Watts told Souderes. &uot;So maybe paying people to come to these fire is the key.&uot;

However, Watts added he does not know how paying the county’s firefighters would affect an interlocal agreement under which the Natchez Fire Department responds to fires in unincorporated areas of the county. City Attorney Walter Brown could not be reached Friday afternoon for information on how that might affect the city-county fire agreement.

Supervisor S.F. &uot;Spanky&uot; Felter said retaining more county firefighters might help improve fire ratings, which could mean lower insurance rates for some county residents. &uot;And (it would) help save lives &045; that’s the most important thing,&uot; supervisors President Darryl Grennell said.

Later, supervisors renewed a city-county interlocal agreement to fund the Metro Narcotics Task Force.